[Foundation-l] Wikimania and the Muhammad pix

[Andrew Whitworth]

What I think would be most useful at this point is to try and compile
an informational resource about this topic, so that we can see all
points of view at a glance, and try to educate people better about
this topic. More information and education will help to guide more
informed decisions on this topic.

Some kinds of information that we should obtain and make public are:
1) Who exactly is offended by this and why?
2) Is there a prohibition on simply having these images, or are they
only offensive when viewed by certain people? Ie, is it possible to
have these images, but hold them on a page where they are not readily
viewable, or only viewable after a warning?
3) What are the specific uses and values of the images currently on
display? Is there significant historical context to these images, and
are they closely integrated into the article?
4) How does the presence or non-presence of these images impact the
POV of the article? That is, is removing them truly an NPOV offense?
If the content is neutral, does the presentation matter?

I'm really of the opinion here that the best thing we can do is try to
compile the important information into some kind of a primer, and then
use that text as the basis for a rational discussion on the matter.
What we don't need is to continue this disjoint argument with some
people saying (in caricature) "these muslims don't respect my freedom
of speech and NPOV", and others saying "these english and americans
are islamophobic hateful bigots".

--Andrew Whitworth